RED&BLACK
by ghostlingg
Summary: Alya invites Nino, Adrien, and Marinette to kareoke, while Ladybug and Chat Noir get a little closer. Marinette builds up a friendship and starts falling a little in love. She has to choose between Chat Noir and Adrien, both two very different people. Or are they?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: I am reimagining the characters as a few years older. Closer to 17 or 18. Please enjoy!**

Marinette was sitting in class on a chilly afternoon in the fall. Her head was resting on her hand, and she had to keep herself from falling asleep listening to the geography lesson. Last night was an adventure- another day, another akuma. It wasn't like she hated it though, most of these baddies were pretty harmless (so far, at least) and had been defeated countless times.

Most evenings Ladybug patrolled Paris alone. If Chat Noir went on patrols, he didn't do it with her. Contrary to popular belief (those pesky news channels!) Ladybug and Chat only met up sparingly during the month, but made sure to work together when there were dark butterflies involved. Marinette never minded this, actually preferring to have time alone to reflect and practice. And Chat could be _annoying_. The girl looked under her desk to check her phone; The weather looked rather cold tonight but she had told her partner that they could meet at 21:00… She then felt a nudge on her arm and looked up to see Alya eyeing Marinette's phone and quickly looking back up at her with wide eyes. Marinette's phone started to buzz and they both looked down to see "No texting in class!" sent by Nino. She looked around to see where he was and the three friends giggled silently.

When class was finished, Alya and Marinette found themselves at the front doors to the school. It was just chilly enough to create frost on the grass.

"Ah, Geography really is my favourite subject," Alya joked, leaning against the black gate. She had her hands in the pockets of her red coat.

"Me too, I mean, what is more interesting than learning about the Earth's crust and water currents? It's really intriguing stuff," Marinette laughed.

"When you put it like that it seems at least mildly okay."

Marinette looked at her watch. 17:13. She still had a while until tonight. She could feel Tikki moving around in her purse, obviously wanting the girl to get to a place more private.

"Hey girls!" Nino yelled from a few meters away. Alya winked at Marinette and turned to motion to Nino and his friend to come over. The girl was sure her best friend had a little crush on Nino but she just had more confidence about it. Whereas with Marinette's own crush… She could feel her heart jump up in her chest and butterflies form in her tummy so powerful that she swore they could be little akuma butterflies. The girl would have chuckled to herself if she hadn't seen Adrien in the distance walking over. Oh no. Why does seeing Adrien always do this to her? How come this didn't seem to happen to anyone else? How is it humanly possible to be so _attractive?_

"So I was thinking," Alya started when both boys had come closer, "We should all go to karaoke. I know of a great place that has some good hits! The owners are Japanese and don't speak any french, so sometimes they'll let you have alcohol if you're underage. Sound fun?"

Her friend met Marinette's eyes for a brief, sly moment before smiling and nodding enthusiastically to Adrien and Nino.

"Sounds fun!" Nino said.

"Sure, I'll go," Adrien smiled.

"Tomorrow night. Be at my place at 18:00," Alya beamed, "It's a double date!"

Before the group could ask any more questions, Alya ran off to her older brother's car.

"Who's dating who?" Adrien laughed.

"You and me, bro," Nino fist bumped his friend and they laughed. The group gave each other a little wave and everyone walked off in different directions.

Marinette's heart was still beating madly when she arrived home, having texted Alya a hundred question marks and blushing emojis. Alya simply wrote back a winky face.

18:42. Tikki finally flew out of Marinette's bag and stretched.

"It's so dark in there! I had a good nap though," Tikki smiled at Marinette.

"I'm glad."

"Everything okay?"

"Alya invited Adrien to hang out tomorrow! I don't know how I'll do it…"

"Oh, Marinette. If you like him then you should want to see him."

"I want to see him but he can't see the true me when I'm too nervous to speak," The girl cried. She gave herself a little hug and tried to breathe steadier. Tikki flew over and sat herself on Mari's head. She gave her friend a little hug.

"Thanks," Marinette sighed, feeling a little better.

8:55. Ladybug was sitting on the roof of a patisserie near the downtown core. It was the time of the year where everything got dark fast, and at seven Paris was only lit by street lights and the Eiffel Tower. This was the best place to meet her partner, she had previously told Chat Noir, because the smell of bread and pastries filled the air while you watched the night crowd walk to bars and late-night cafes. Tonight particularly was a nice night to smell baked goods. They reminded her of home and calmed her worried thoughts.

When the two heroes met up they liked to either watch Parisians or play fight and chase each other around the city. It was nice. Marinette wished she could be as comfortable around Adrien as she was around Chat. Maybe one day.

"Hello, my lady!" Chat shouted from a few roofs over.

"Don't you catcall me!" Ladybug retorted, standing up.

"Oh, I so do love your cat puns," the boy chimed, "Did you know about the full moon tonight?"

"No, I didn't see anything about it," she replied, looking off to the city.

"But it's too bright to see the stars from here."

"We don't have anything else to do. Let's go somewhere darker."

Chat Noir smiled at his partner and both of them ran off towards a different part of town. Soon enough, they had come across a tall abandoned building. Marinette looked around, curious. On top of the flat roof was a dead garden and old graffiti all over the ground with one nicely maintained bench sitting in the middle of the rooftop. Underneath the bench was a plastic bin.

"This is where I come to watch the city at night," Chat said, looking at his beautiful partner. He smiled at her, proud of his space. Marinette just smiled shyly. Chat was showing her a more intimate part of himself and the girl felt happy that her friend trusted her. Chat Noir walked over to the bench, his tail swishing behind him. He kneeled and pulled out the green, plastic bin. Inside he grabbed a blanket and a bag of candy.

"So you do patrol, in a way," Ladybug chuckled.

"What made you think I didn't?" Chat said, laying a blanket on the cold bench and motioning to her.

"I wasn't sure what you did in your spare time. I didn't want to overestimate you and get disappointed," She laughed, sitting on the blanket, "This isn't a date, right?"

"If it was a date, you'd know," Chat winked. He wrapped himself in a second blanket. Marinette did the same. It was still cold under the wool covers, but it was somehow perfect. Or purr-fect. Whatever. The blanket smelled nice, like mint and lavender. It must have been washed recently; Did Chat plan this? Her heart suddenly started beating a little faster. In a good way.

The moon was beautiful. Paris was beautiful.

Chat reached out to grab some candy, which was sitting between the teenagers. Marinette's hand slipped out of the blankets and she placed it on top of his, intertwining their fingers. She continued looking at the sky as Chat looked at her curiously. Marinette knew she shouldn't play like this but it seemed like a good moment to get closer to her friend. She did not know how deep her partner's feelings were, and she had always assumed his flirtation was towards all girls. Not that he would meet many as a feline hero. Or maybe he did? He couldn't be up here every night alone. Ladybug thought about how sad that was and how maybe he could see her at night when she hopped between rooftops.

Chat placed the candy bag on the ground with his unoccupied hand and moved himself to be closer to his friend. Neither of them were touching other than with their fingers, especially with all the blankets surrounding them. Ladybug leaned over and gave Chat a kiss on the cheek. That was all he would get. Chat tensed his shoulders and made a little surprised noise. He didn't ask for anything more than that. She didn't know if she felt anything for him more than friendship, but isn't that a type of love? Shouldn't romance be built upon friendship? And Ladybug and Chat were good friends. One completed the other, in a sense.

Oh, Adrien. If he wasn't there Ladybug would probably be looking at Chat the same way. They were both so different yet so similar; one boy was more quiet and contemplative, kind and talented. The other was rowdy, talkative, and wouldn't stop flirting. Not tonight though, it seemed.

1:04. It was late. Chat and Ladybug had been sitting above the city for hours in silence, occasionally with Chat pointing out characters on the street and both of them laughing.

"I should go, my lady," Chat Noir sighed, "Not to disappoint, but I have school tomorrow and practice before that."

"I better get home too," Lady said, getting out of the covers. Chat was always trying to talk about his civilian life when they met up, trying to hint at who he was. Lady had to force herself to be cold on the subject; She wanted to know as badly as he did but felt that it would change everything they had built.

"I practice fencing, if you're curious," Chat continued.

"Mmhmm," Ladybug mumbled, folding the covers neatly and putting them into the large bin. She could see a cardboard box at the bottom of the bin, and Marinette stooped down to lift the cover of the box. Before she could lift it, 2 more blankets were thrown into the bin. She looked up at her partner and raised an eyebrow.

"That's for another time, my lady," Chat told her. Ladybug rolled her eyes.

"Let's meet again in a week from now," Ladybug stated, "Unless any funny business happens."

"There's always funny business when I'm around, my love," Chat said as he jumped off the building.

Ladybug was left alone to think while she bounded home, but she felt a lot better about the karaoke situation.


	2. Chapter 2

"You ready?!" Alya playfully punched her friend's arm. It was 17:45 and Marinette was lying on Alya's bed, trying to calm herself.

"You look great, the red dress I lent you really suits you," Alya smiled, "And it's only for a few hours. I'm sure it'll be nice sharing a fun experience with your crush."

The dress fit Marinette beautifully. It was burgundy and white with 3/4 sleeves. It went to her knees and swung around nicely when she walked. It almost looked like too much but Alya convinced her friend that the dress was perfect for the event. Alya herself was wearing dark jeans, boots, and a wool long-sleeve top.

"How do you have this much confidence?" Mari whined. But she wasn't feeling as awful as yesterday.

"Fake it 'til you make it, girl," Alya responded.

Just then, a knock came from the blue bedroom door. Marinette thought she was going to throw up. Alya grinned at her and went to open the door.

"You ready?!" Nino asked loudly when the door swung open. He was holding a video camera.

"You bet!" Alya said, pumping her fist in the air.

"Adrien's gonna meet us there, he told me he had practice until 18:00 for some fencing competition," Nino said.

Walking to the Karaoke place was freezing. The friends walked super close together, huddling for warmth.

"I'm hoping they'll have some electronic music," Nino said.

"They'll only have ones with singing in it, Nino," Alya laughed.

"I know Adrien likes the alternative stuff, so he probably won't know music they'll have."

"Well Marinette could help him! She knows a lot of different music," Alya winked.

"I don't know as much as you think I do," Mari admitted. She actually knew a lot about music, but she was too nervous to think about talking to Adrien.

They were assigned a very cozy room when the group got to the place.

"Problem, guys. Most of the music here is in Japanese," Nino sighed, "They have some pop junk but nothing electronic."

"Boo hoo, you're going to have to sing something popular," Alya joked. They all had to sit very close together, stuck closely in a booth.

On their second song, _Je Veux_ by _Zaz_ , Adrien opened the door and poked his head into the room.

"This is right one?" He whispered, "I've been in two that were wrong already."

He closed the door behind him and went to sit down where there was space. Beside Marinette. She tried to smile at him through her tummy akumas but just managed to make an uncomfortable smirk while the boy sat down. Good thing it was super dark in there. Alya motioned to move over and the group ended up almost on top of each other.

Oh no. Oh no. Marinette felt Adrien's leg right up touching hers, the side of his hip against her hip.

"How was your day, Marinette?" Adrien asked, looking around at her. He was so close. Too close. His eyes were so pretty. His skin was so nice. From here she could even see some freckles in the glow of the neon lights from the TV.

"N…Nothing!" Marinette stammered loudly, "I… I mean, it was good!"

Nino chose the next song. He started to sing it with Alya.

Adrien turned around again and said something. Alya's singing was too loud for Marinette to hear him. She shook her head and mouthed _what_. Adrien then looked away for a second and suddenly leaned in to Marinette's ear. Oh no. She could feel his warm breath against her skin. She was melting.

"Your parents run a bakery right? Do you ever make croissants or sweets?" The boy asked, his lips centimetres from her ear. Marinette's legs started feeling warm.

"Y-yeah! I make them a lot! Cupcakes and cookies mostly," Marinette said. Adrien looked at her and shook his head while pointing to his ear. Her heart jumped and danced in her chest. She leaned into him and said it again. She could feel some of his hair on her cheek, and one of her hands brushed his thigh while she went to put it on the table. She was glad the room was dark- her face was as red as her alter-ego's costume.

"Hey, you two do a song while I go get us something to drink!" Alya said, scooting awkwardly past Nino. Marinette started reading through the songbook, looking for something she knew and something she could probably do a good job with.

"Do you know _Je Sais_ by _Shy'm_?" Marinette asked, turning around.

"Oh, yeah! I've heard that one once or twice. I'll just follow your lead," Adrien said, looking at her. _I'll follow your lead_ … Something about how he said that sounded so familiar. She didn't know why.

"That's a good one! I wish there were more mic's." Nino said, leaning his head on his arm. Adrien smiled at his friend.

Alya came in, holding 4 fancy pink drinks. She put them on the table and flicked on the lights and started looking through her bag, probably for her phone.

"Oh!" Adrien said, looking at Marinette, "Your dress is so pretty. You look cute, Marinette."

The lights went off again and Mari smiled a big smile. She thanked him, no stuttering or anything. She pressed a few buttons on the remote and the song went on. Marinette sung it perfectly with her crush (although he didn't know the lines in some parts) and the two teens laughed afterward. She sipped at her drink and slowly became increasingly more relaxed throughout the night. On Mari's third drink, she was standing on the couch with Alya and yelling out the lyrics to some song she had never heard before.

It wasn't until Nino brought back some food from the bar that Marinette realized how comfortable she felt with her friends. Adrien was her friend now. They were sharing such a fun time! This was fun! Adrien was looking tired beside Marinette; she guessed he was more of a sleepy drunk. It was adorable. The room was still dark and Alya was singing a heartfelt love song, occasionally looking over at Nino.

Marinette was starting so feel a little sleepy too. Maybe it was all the drinks. Or the song. But she sat back and reached over for Adrien's open hand, beside him. She didn't know why. It felt right. Her heart didn't start beating wildly until he noticed her hand and held it back. He intertwined his fingers with hers.

Then Marinette's stomach started turning. Something… Something was weird.

The last time Marinette held hands with another person was Chat Noir, just yesterday.

And yet… Adrien's hand was so similar. How his pinky finger pressed a little harder than the rest of his fingers… How his thumb started drawing little pictures on the back of her hand.

Marinette quickly pulled her fingers away, but it was too late. Adrien was asleep on the table.

"Thanks for the night, Alya!" Nino said as he waved goodbye. Adrien was slumped over Nino's shoulder. They hobbled away, signalling for a taxi.

"Wasn't that fun, Mari?!" Alya said, pumping her fists into the air, "Love is a beautiful thing. You still sleeping at my place tonight?"

"Sure," Marinette said, still feeling a little sick. She didn't understand what was wrong and she was too tired to think about it.

The next morning Marinette woke up in a bad mood. She had a massive headache, her throat was raspy, her arms hurt, and she was still exhausted. She didn't really want to think about yesterday; Marinette remembered the whole night in a haze. But duty called. Soon enough, Alya's radio turned on beside her bed and blurted out that two superheroes were needed to save loose animals who escaped from some French pet stores.

"Really?" Marinette sighed. Alya was still fast asleep, snoring like a puppy.

Tikki flew over to Marinette and gave her a huge yawn. Today was not a good day and Marinette just wanted to go back to bed… Why couldn't she just have a normal life like everyone else? Alya, Nino, and even Adrien didn't have to put up with this stuff.

Ladybug swung from building to building, slowly stretching her limbs out when they started aching. She managed to land right on top of the main pet store downtown. She felt that Chat would probably be way better than her at this challenge than she, so the hero picked up her phone and tried to call him. No answer. Maybe he was on his way. Or not. Either way, Marinette needed to get to work at finding some animals.

In just under forty-five minutes, Ladybug had put the cute animals back in their cages. She didn't feel it was right to have them in there, but it wasn't her decision and making a big deal about it wouldn't have helped the situation. The business owner shook her hand and thanked her a hundred times, telling her that his business would have been over if she hadn't helped out. She blushed and mumbled that it wasn't a problem. He offered her an animal if she wanted one, but Ladybug just shook her head and told him that she already had a kitty to take care of. She waved goodbye and turned.

And then the same feeling as yesterday washed over her. Marinette started feeling a little dizzy. Something told her to look over to her left and when she did, a young boy with blonde hair came walking around the street corner. He had bags under his eyes and he was carrying a black duffel bag with _L'Ecole D'Escrime_ written on it. Oh no. It was Adrien. When he saw the hero he stopped in his tracks, wide eyed.

Had he ever seen Ladybug in person before? She thought. It was his lucky day, then. Suddenly, with a high-pitched meow, a small black kitten jumped out of the bushes beside the teens. It ran over to Adrien and started to crawl up his pant leg. Adrian looked at the kitten and laughed. Ladybug walked over to him.

"I guess I didn't put them all away yet," Ladybug giggled. She didn't feel nervous at all. Maybe it was the costume?

"Sh- She's so cute," Adrien said, stuttering. He started blushing. The cat climbed up the boy's shirt up to his shoulder and started to rub its head on Adrien's ear. The kitten started purring. She had one green eye and one yellow.

"She likes you, Adrien," Ladybug said as she put her hands on her hips.

"Cats seem to naturally like me…" He sighed, looking down, "You know my name?"

Oh dang it.

"I know many civilians!" Ladybug said, quickly. Adrien's eyes widened, "The characters in your class get into trouble a fair bit, so Chat Noir and I study them!"

It wasn't true but Adrien wouldn't know that. The boy looked up and scrunched his eyebrows together, confused.

"The kitten belongs to that shop over there," Ladybug said as she threw up her yo-yo and flew off.

That night, Ladybug saw Chat Noir. Watching the streets above Paris atop the old factory building, he asked her to attend his fencing competition this Saturday. She politely declined.


	3. Chapter 3

It was halfway through second period when Alya asked Marionette if she was going to Adrien's fencing competition. They were sitting together at the back of art history class.

"Nino invited me but I thought you'd want to go too, since your crush will be all hot and sweaty," she winked.

"Alya!" Mari blushed, "I won't even be able to tell who he is when they're all wearing masks."

"I guess so."

"I'll still go though," Mari said smiling, "When is it?"

"Saturday!"

Mari's eyes widened. Imaginary waves rose up and engulfed her. Marinette's heart started sinking into the deep dark depths of a red sea, with her mind splashing and waving.

"Are you okay?" Alya asked, putting one hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I… I'm fine… I just…" Marinette mumbled, "I'm gonna go to the washroom."

She left the room and ran over to the bathroom, locking herself in one of the stalls. She tried calming herself. If she went to the competition on Saturday she'd be so close to Chat. Or whoever he truly was. Thinking about it made her heart beat like a rabid drummer. Was this more than friendship? When she thought of him she couldn't stop smiling and the tummy akumas returned. But the same thing happened when she thought about Adrien. But it _couldn't_ be anything more than friendship. She pushed the thought away. He was her _partner_. And that was all. She stayed a few minutes longer to slow her breath and heart.

When Mari returned from the washroom Alya held her friend's hand and told her she was probably just nervous because Adrien was getting closer. Marinette wished it was just that. Chat and Adrien were going to compete on Saturday, whether she liked it or not.

After school, Marinette began walking home. Clouds floated aimlessly overhead with just a small wind that moved the girl's hair around. Tikki zipped herself out of Marinette's bag and flew up into her big warm jacket so they could talk.

"Marinette! Are we patrolling tonight?"

"No, not tonight. I have way too much homework," she sighed. Tikki pouted.

"Well, I'm having a nice bubble bath. Like the one you made for me last week?"

"That's doable," Marinette smiled. Last week she had heated up some water, filled a bowl with bubble liquid, and put some flower petals in it for Tikki. Sometimes little Kwami's need relaxing time too.

She got back to her house, said hi to her parents, and ran upstairs to her bedroom. She put on her pink striped pyjamas and ended up working on some boring geography homework for a few hours; It was nice getting her mind out of her boy problems. After she was done, she made a nice bath for Tikki and placed it on the windowsill for her friend. Tikki was very grateful and settled into the warm water and bubbles. Mari smiled and decided to go read a book on her bed.

It was 21:00 when Marinette was startled by a _tap tap_ on her balcony window. Looking up, she saw two glowing green eyes looking at her through the glass. Her eyes swept the scene in front of her: Tikki asleep in her little bathtub and Chat Noir unlocking her window. He didn't see Tikki. Actually, he didn't even see her until the window came open and pushed her little bathtub off the frame. The bowl came crashing down and shattered all over the floor. Tikki managed to stay relatively afloat and blinked her eyes trying to wake up.

"I… I'm so sorry! I just needed someone to talk to! What…" He began to say, but it was too late. Marinette was kneeling on her bed with glass and water all over the floor, Tikki was floating in the middle of the room looking at the intruder, and Chat Noir was staring at both of them. His eyes settled on Tikki. She looked at him with pleading wide eyes.

"Is that what I think it is?" He asked. He was perched on the window frame.

"I…" Marinette began to say. But she couldn't think of any lie about Tikki that would seem mildly plausible.

"You're Ladybug," Chat Noir whispered, looking between her and the kwami, "You're…"

And before Marinette could say anything else, the cat boy was gone.

"Well, at least now he knows," Marinette sighed.

"What just happened?"

"Go sleep, Tikki," Marinette said, "I'll clean up this mess."

And she did, all the while thinking about every time Chat wanted to know who she was. Why did he get so scared? He could have shown her himself at this point too. I mean, he wouldn't tell anyone who she was.

…Would he?

She had to confront him. She didn't know if he'd tell anyone but if he did it would ruin everything. Where would she see Chat next?

And then it hit her: the fencing competition.

For the rest of the week Marinette spent her waking hours thinking about her situation. She thought about how she would figure out who Chat Noir was when they were wearing masks, and figured she would watch closely to the competitor's fighting styles. Chat was nimble, quick, and did more dodging than anything else. Hopefully he fought like this without his costume too. Marinette figured she would know who he was because the judges would call out names during the competition. It was all figured out. For a few nights that week, she bounded through Paris hoping she'd see her feline friend but to no avail. On the night before the fencing competition, Ladybug made her way to the old factory building. It was such a beautiful night.

She stepped onto the dead garden atop the roof and looked at the old destroyed graffiti lining the walls. Names and tags were painted haphazardly along the tallest wall, giving a rough impression to her. Stepping closer to the bench, Ladybug stopped.

Carved into the wall with what looked to be claws were the words: _Maybe I'm scared because you mean more to me than any other person. You are everything I think about, everything I need, everything I want._ Below this was an arrow pointing to the ground. Ladybug looked down. She began to see large red letters spray painted on to the floor and she backed up enough to read the poem they wrote.

 _If kisses were raindrops,_

 _I'd send you showers._

 _If hugs were seconds,_

 _I'd send you hours._

 _If smiles were water,_

 _I'd send you the sea._

 _If love was a person,_

 _I'd send you me._

She couldn't believe it. She looked around but there was no sign of Chat Noir on the premises. Her eyes welled up and Ladybug couldn't help but cry. She cried because she didn't know what to do; her heart was taken by both Adrien and Chat. How? Why? Why did life give people such dilemmas like this?

The girl wiped her eyes and went to the bench. She pulled out the plastic bin, reached inside, and took out the brown cardboard box inside. With a deep breath, she opened it.

Inside were photographs, drawings, and lists. Writing scrawled on every page, with portraits of young girls circled and crossed out. It made Chat look a little obsessive. While flipping through the pages, Ladybug realized what all these items were. Chat was trying to figure out who ladybug was. Right at the bottom of the box was a snapshot of Marinette with the words "maybe" written beside her face. He had drawn a little mask on the photograph's face in pen. On the back side of the photograph he had drawn a little heart.

Marinette met Alya and Nino at Alya's house early Saturday morning. Alya ushered her friend inside and got her a cup of hot coffee with sugar.

"Did you want to borrow some of my clothes, Mari?" Alya asked, looking at her and sipping her drink.

"I thought I was wearing something nice! Should I change?" Marinette asked, looking down at her lilac blouse and brown skirt. Alya raised an eyebrow. Nino was sitting at the breakfast table with his eyes closed bobbing his head to some music on his earphones.

"I bought a dress yesterday that I know will look good on you. Come on," Alya said while making her way upstairs, "Close your eyes."

Marinette closed her eyes and sat on Alya's bed. She could hear ruffling around.

"Okay!"

Marinette opened her eyes and gasped. Her friend was holding up a short A-line dress with a close collar and no sleeves. It had ribbons near the collar. It was red with black polka dots.

"Alya! I can't wear that. I- I can't…" Marinette sighed, looking lustfully at the dress.

"I know you want to wear it. Put it on," Alya urged, smiling. And Marinette did. She looked beautiful in it. Even Nino gave her a thumbs up when she came back down the stairs.

Alya's brother drove the group to the centre where the event was taking place and let them go in themselves. He told them that he'd pick them up in a few hours. Once they went inside, Nino couldn't help but look around for his best friend.

"I know they section the groups off by school but I heard they are trying something a little different this year due to the high number of competitors," Nino said, giving his jacket into coat check. The group made their way into the large gym-like area and took seat near the side. They talked and hoped Adrien would do well. Nino told them that quite a few students from their school were competing today, but Marinette felt nervous for another reason. She concentrated on following the uniformed students who were walking around the sidelines, noticing when they took their helmets off. She was hopeful for Adrien but wanted to find Chat instead.

"Good morning, everyone, " A loud booming voice spoke on the intercom, "We will be commencing the competition shortly. This year, we are starting by pairing off students by school. Everyone starts at once and our judges will be walking around. If a competitor gets a tap on their shoulder, they're out. The remaining students will compete for the prize and recognition."

Marinette's heart was beating so fast she thought it would burst out of her chest. She watched while hundreds of students walked out from the side of the stadium and were paired up with students from other schools. It was difficult to tell from what school anyone was even in. Nino kept pointing and whispering every time he thought he recognized someone. Alya laughed every time.

As the whistle was blown and the competition started, Marinette watched diligently from her seat. It took a while for losing students to be ushered away and winners to be paired with others. She observed contestants with utmost caution, noticing the smallest slip up and hand movement. And then she saw him.

Chat Noir.

His movements were perfect. He was the right height, the right body type, and had the right gestures. What really gave him away was the claw-like form his back hand made though. Marinette almost giggled when she realized this. Her stomach butterflies wiggled and danced while she buzzed in her chair. After a while, around 15 students were left including Chat.

"That is the end of the preliminary competition. We are sorry to all the students who didn't make it. After a half hour break, return to the main hall for the finals. Good luck, winners!" A loud voice spoke.

"Dang! He didn't even mention which schools are left," Nino said sadly. Marinette watched the students as the remaining ones bowed. She followed Chat with her eyes. He turned his head and looked right at her. She couldn't help but feel as though she needed to follow him.

"I'll be right back, guys," Marinette said to her friends. She rushed off while keeping Chat in her view; She noticed he made a turn and walked into the locker room with the words "Escrime #3" on a paper taped to the door. She followed him in and locked the door behind her.

Chat stopped in the middle of the room. Marinette walked to him and put herself in between the lockers and where he was.

"Chat, I saw your note on the rooftop," She said quietly, lovingly. He didn't say anything. Marinette backed up to the lockers. He came closer.

"I feel the same way," Marinette whispered gently. Chat's shoulder's relaxed and he reached up, unbuckling the back of his helmet. He came closer… And just as he started taking the helmet off, Marinette reached out and stopped him. She could see his mouth and a part of his nose.

"Not yet, not yet," She whispered as she put her face close to his. Chat Noir then pressed his lips against Marinette's with electricity that made her legs go numb. She opened her mouth to let him in and he put a gloved hand on her neck. He gently pressed her against the lockers and Marinette couldn't help but smile as she kissed him as if he was her love who had come back from sea. Chat made a light grunt as Marinette reached out to his waist to bring the boy closer. His lips were so soft. His motions so passionate yet so gentle. She reached up to take his helmet off…

 _Bam bam bam._

Someone was knocking on the door. Chat stopped, turned, and headed for the noise. She still couldn't see the boy's face. He unlocked the door and looked out at a very frustrated man.

"Where have you been? Adrien, you're on next!" The man said. Marinette put her hands up to her face and silently gasped. Adrien lifted his helmet and looked at Marinette. It was true. She… She had kissed Adrien. She had kissed Adrien in a locker room. She… Adrien was Chat Noir!

He smiled at her slyly and winked. And then he was gone.

Marinette slid down the lockers onto the floor and couldn't help but start laughing. All the signs, all the hints. It was so _obvious_. Adrien… Adrien had written that poem for her. Adrien had loved her. He had loved her so much.

And she loved him too.


End file.
